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03-03 Contents_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 13:57 Page 3

Chess
Founding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc †
Contents
Executive Editor: Malcolm Pein Editorial....................................................................................................................4
Editors: Richard Palliser, Matt Read Malcolm Pein on the latest developments in the game
Associate Editor: John Saunders
Subscriptions Manager: Paul Harrington 60 Seconds with...David Kramaley..............................................................7
Twitter: @CHESS_Magazine We catch up with the founder of Chessable
Twitter: @TelegraphChess - Malcolm Pein
Website: www.chess.co.uk Drama & Burnout .................................................................................................8
Magnus Carlsen struggled as the GCT arrived in St. Louis
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United Kingdom
It’s Chess Jim, but not as we know it ......................................................18
1 year (12 issues) £49.95 Matthew Sadler enjoyed the variety of chess on offer at the MSO
2 year (24 issues) £89.95
Playing Silly Buggers .......................................................................................21
3 year (36 issues) £125
After a wild encounter, James Plaskett lost an endgame he knew
Europe
1 year (12 issues) £60 To Hull and Back.................................................................................................24
2 year (24 issues) £112.50 Sean Marsh was impressed by the English Women’s Championship
3 year (36 issues) £165
Find the Winning Moves.................................................................................26
USA & Canada
Can you do as well as the GCT players and those in Torquay?
1 year (12 issues) $90
2 year (24 issues) $170 Remembering Benko ........................................................................................30
3 year (36 issues) $250
Matthew Read pays tribute to the Hungarian great Pal Benko
Rest of World (Airmail)
1 year (12 issues) £72 “It Starts with Hello” ......................................................................................32
2 year (24 issues) £130 Ben Graff sees how the 64 squares can bring people together
3 year (36 issues) £180
Chess on the Net ...............................................................................................35
Distributed by: Let Danny Rosenbaum be your guide to chess on YouTube and Twitch
Post Scriptum (UK only),
Unit G, OYO Business Park, Hindmans Way, You’ve been Beckered!...................................................................................38
Dagenham, RM9 6LN - Tel: 020 8526 7779 Geoff Chandler imagines what might happen if moves were copyright
LMPI (North America)
8155 Larrey Street, Montreal (Quebec),
Forthcoming Events.........................................................................................39
H1J 2L5, Canada - Tel: 514 355-5610
How Good is Your Chess?..............................................................................40
Views expressed in this publication are not Daniel King on the Grand Chess Tour and the rise of Yu Yangyi
necessarily those of the Editors. Contributions to
the magazine will be published at the Editors’ Never Mind the Grandmasters...................................................................44
discretion and may be shortened if space is limited. Carl Portman could hardly believe who he got to play in Chartres
No parts of this publication may be reproduced You Never Know................................................................................................46
without the prior express permission of the publishers.
Bob Jones reports from Paignton where a record was possibly set
All rights reserved. © 2019
Chess Magazine (ISSN 0964-6221) is published by:
Pula Stars..............................................................................................................48
Chess & Bridge Ltd, 44 Baker St, London, W1U 7RT Matthew Lunn reports back from his busman’s holiday in Croatia
Tel: 020 7288 1305 Fax: 020 7486 7015
Overseas News...................................................................................................51
Email: info@chess.co.uk, Website: www.chess.co.uk
Evgeny Tomashevsky and Olga Girya are the Russian Champions
FRONT COVER:
Home News ..........................................................................................................52
Cover Design: Matt Read
Cover image: Harry Gielen
Who has qualified for the final of the UK Open Blitz Championship?

US & Canadian Readers – You can contact us via our

Solutions ...............................................................................................................53
American branch – Chess4Less based in West Palm
Beach, FL. Call toll-free on 1-877 89CHESS (24377). This Month’s New Releases ..........................................................................54
You can even order Subscriber Special Offers online James Vigus very much enjoyed Quality Chess’ latest offering
via www.chess4less.com
Saunders on Chess............................................................................................58
John discovers that a book has been written on just final round games
Printed in the UK by The Magazine Printing
Photo credits: Raf Barzeele (p.51), Chess Magazine archive (pp. 30-31), Austin Fuller/Saint
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3
07-07 60sDavidKramaley_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 13:58 Page 7

Born: Rostov-on-Don, Soviet Union, 1987.

Place of residence: I’ve been in Britain since

2008 and in Swindon for the last four years,
but am currently contemplating/trying out a
move somewhere else – Bristol, maybe?

Occupation: All things Chessable.com.

Enjoyable? Very.

And home life? Busy, as got a little one

running around. She’s three.

But sometimes good to escape to: The

outdoors. I enjoy any outdoor activity,
especially hiking. I’ve been to the three tallest
peaks in the UK and enjoyed every single
minute of that, although lately my time
outside has been limited.

Sports played or followed: When I have

time, I follow football and support Liverpool
and Barcelona. two minutes versus 30 seconds, which were
S.Crockart-D.Kramaley his rules. I won the game, which was great fun.
A favourite novel? Dostoevsky’s Crime and Frome Open 2017 It should be up on social media some day soon.
Punishment and George Orwell’s 1984.
Favourite game of all time? I don’t have one.
Piece of music? Anything by Coldplay.
The best three chess books: It’s very easy
for me to be biased here, so I won’t pick any.
Film or TV series? Friends.
Is FIDE doing a good job? From what I’ve
What’s the best thing about playing
seen in the last year they have really upped
chess? The ability for it to quickly fully
their game and are heading in a positive
absorb you into a flow state where chess is
direction. I hope it continues.
the only thing you can think about. It’s
awesome. The theory of flow was developed Or the ECF? I don’t know enough to comment.
by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and
it’s super interesting and important. Any advice for either? Help develop young
talent and focus on reducing the amount of
And the worst? Time trouble. girls dropping out from chess.

Your best move? As Black, 1 e4 d5. Good luck! Can chess make one happy? Definitely.
Due to my position in the standings and
playing the tournament leader, I thought I’d Flow baby!
But less memorable than your worst
be aggressive and throw a curve ball here.
move? I had been following my book moves A tip please for the club player: Check out
The resulting positions I knew nothing about
until this point and was either second or third, Chessable before your opponents do!
and instead of at least holding a draw, I lost
just half a point off first in a tough field at the
the game. The lesson: stick to what you Ed. - As you may have seen in the papers,
Frome Congress.
know, unless you are a GM and can truly Chessable was recently purchased by Play
figure things out in unfamiliar positions! Magnus, who will be making a significant
10...f5?! 11 0-0 Íd6 12 b3 0-0 13 a4 investment in David Kramaley’s site. Play
Íc7 14 Ía3 Îf6 15 b4 Îh6 16 b5 Ëe8? Magnus has also recently merged with
17 bxc6 bxc6 18 cxd5 exd5 19 Îc1 a6 Chess24, and Magnus himself commented: “I
20 Îc2 Ëg6 21 Êh1 Îh5 22 Ìh2 Îg5 am really impressed by what David and his team
23 Ëf3 Îd8? 24 Íe7 Îe8? 25 Íxg5 have been able to achieve in such a short time.
Ëxg5 1-0 I believe this is a tool that can help players at
different levels improve their chess games in an
And a highly memorable opponent? I once effective way.” If you’re yet to, do check things
played GM Jacob Aagaard with time odds of out at www.chessable.com!

www.chess.co.uk
7
08-16 StLouis2019_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 13:55 Page 8

Drama & Burnout

Saint Louis hosted the latest two legs of the Grand Chess Tour. The Rapid & Blitz
was typically lively, but the Sinquefield Cup was something of a draw fest
He arrived at the Saint Louis Rapid and
Blitz seeking his eighth tournament victory of
2019, not to mention ninth in a row, and was
no doubt intending to immediately follow up
in the Sinquefield Cup, but for once it was not
to be for Magnus Carlsen in the American
chess capital.
Four days into the Rapid and Blitz, with
one to go, the audience heard a player
confess: “Everything is going wrong. My
confidence is long gone. I don’t really care any
more. To be honest, my number one wish is
for the tournament to get over.” And who
was this demoralised tailender, if one then
ranked seventh overall in the tournament? It
was none other than the world champion
himself. What had gone wrong?

Carlsen Crumbles

The champ wasn’t helped in the Rapid by

having to begin with two blacks and perhaps
it wasn’t such a surprise that he was Ding Liren gave Magnus Carlsen plenty to ponder when they played some 8 times in St. Louis.
outplayed by Ding Liren in the opening round.
Ding has long been threatening a major defending and maintaining a rough balance.
success and would go on to enjoy his time in 11 Ëg3 Êh8
St. Louis, as we shall see. Carlsen wasn’t fazed 11...cxd4 12 Íxh6 Îf7 13 Íd2 fxe4 14
for long, however, bouncing back Ìe2 would have been more messy, but Black
immediately by smoothly outplaying Richard should be still struggling here as his centre
Rapport ahead of displaying almost finds itself quickly undermined.
Kasparovian levels of energy against the 12 Ìh3! cxd4 13 Ìf4 Êh7 14 Íc4 Íg5
latest recruit to the U.S. Olympiad team. The position may appear rather futuristic,
but be in no doubt that White is doing very
well, as we can see too from 14...dxc3 15 Îxb7!?
M.Carlsen-L.Dominguez Perez being possible, and if 15...Íxb7? 16 Ìxe6.
Round 3 15 0-0 Ìc6 16 Ìg6 Îe8 17 Îd1
White also continues to call all the shots
Queen’s Gambit Declined after 17 f4 Íf6 18 e5 Íe7 19 Îd1.
17...Íxc1 18 Îbxc1 Ëg5?
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Ìc3 Ìf6 4 cxd5 Ìxd5 Carlsen’s play reminds one of how White Capitulating, albeit in an unpleasant
5 e4 Ìxc3 6 bxc3 c5 7 Îb1 Íe7 8 h4!? often menaces aggression against the French position. The only real way to fight on was to
A startling new move. Dominguez would Winawer and one man who liked to do that ditch an exchange with 18...e5 19 exf5 Íxf5
later face 8 Ìf3 0-0 9 Íe2 b6 10 0-0 Íb7 (remember 7 h4 there?), a certain Garry Kasparov, 20 Íf7 Ëf6!.
11 Ëd3 Ía6 12 Ëe3 Íxe2 13 Ëxe2 cxd4 heaped praise on White’s concept: “I admit I 19 exf5 exf5 20 cxd4 Íd7 21 Ëc7
14 cxd4 Ìd7, which was likely OK for Black, was pleased to see Carlsen’s early h4 in a nice Tricky play, but 21 Ëxg5 hxg5 22 Íf7 Îe2
although he was soon outplayed in Ding win against Dominguez, with h5 and Ëg4 23 d5 and if 23...Ìd8 24 Ìf8+ Êh6 25 Íg6
Liren-Dominguez, St. Louis (blitz) 2019. and not developing his pieces – moves only a would have left Black being steamrollered.
8...0-0 9 h5 h6 beginner or a world champion would make!” 21...Îad8
Allowing White a long-term fish bone with 10...f5? Just as in the game, 21...Ìxd4 would have
9...b6 10 h6 g6 is known in general to be Black will quickly come to regret been fiendishly met by 22 Ëg3!. Black can
risky for Black and for many a year before weakening g6 so. 10...Êh8 was necessary. hold on to his loose pieces for now with
AlphaZero emerged on the scene. That said, Dominguez may have been worried about 22...Ëxg3 23 fxg3 Îe4 24 Íd3 Îe6, but
11 Ìf3 Íb7 12 Íd3 cxd4 13 cxd4 Ìc6 11 e5, but after 11...Íd7! and if 12 Íd3 after 25 Îc4 Îd6 26 Íc2! Ìe2+ 27 Êf2
may well be playable. Íc6 13 Îh3 Ìd7 14 Îg3 Îg8 15 Ëf4 Îxd1 28 Íxd1 the knight is trapped.
10 Ëg4 cxd4 16 cxd4 f5 Black appears to be 22 d5 Ìd4 23 Ëg3!

October 2019
8
08-16 StLouis2019_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 13:55 Page 16

day after round 11 wasn’t the Carlsen who

had finished the Sinquefield Cup so strongly,
but rather the one who had begun it so
diffidently. Carlsen was quickly worse as
White in their first rapid game, but manage to
draw and then to comfortably hold the return.
The blitz was a different story. Ding
quickly gained the upper hand as White and
found himself with a huge advantage in a rook
and opposite-coloured bishop endgame.
However, he missed several fairly simple wins
and it appeared that Carlsen would hold until
he somehow lost on time on move 87,
despite the three-second delay. That meant
that the world champion again had to win on
demand, and this time it wasn’t to be.

M.Carlsen-Ding Liren
Play-off, Game 3 (blitz) 2019

Pictured in front of St. Louis’ famous giant chess king, Ding Liren could show off the hardly tiny
replica trophy given to the winner of the Sinquefield Cup, as he enjoyed his best result to date.
Ding has boldly just captured on e4 and
after 32 Ìxe4 Ìxe4 33 Ëxa3 Íh4 34 Ëxh3 39 Îxc6 Îxc6 40 Îxc6 Ìf4. no.1 could enjoy the greatest result of his
Ëxa6 d5 Black should have sufficient 36 Îxc1 Îxc1+ 37 Êh2 Íc6 38 Ëxa3 career, first place at the Sinquefield Cup, which
compensation. Íxg5 39 Ëxd6? bagged him $82,500. Both Ding and Carlsen
32 g5 Ía8! White needed to find 39 Ìe2 when pocketed 16.5 GCT points and on the Tour
This retreat poleaxed Carlsen. No doubt he anything might yet have happened after leaderboard Carlsen remains way out in front
saw 33 gxf6 Ëb7 34 Êf1 Ëg2+ (34...Îc2? 39...Îe1 40 Ëxd6 Ìe7 41 Ëxe5 Ìf5. with 54.5 points. He, Ding (37.8) and Vachier-
35 Îe2 defends and wins) 35 Êe2 Ëf3+ 36 39...Íf4! Lagrave (36.8) will surely qualify for the final
Êf1 (36 Êd2 Íd8! is a decisive deflection) Ice calm, having spotted that... four in London, even though the Frenchman
36...Ëg2+, but as a draw was no good, he 40 Íc5 Ìe7 0-1 has played five events to the other two’s four.
was forced to decline the knight. ...is an only move, but a deadly one. The The Tour heads next to Bucharest and then
33 Ëxa6 Ìd5 34 Ía7 Ëc7 35 Îec1 Ëxc1+ threat of mate on h1 decides. Kolkata in November, with Aronian lying in
Ding continues to display no fear, although fourth, back on 25.5, but as he has played only
he might have won more simply with 35...Íc6 As the champ had to admit, Ding was “A lot three events, he must be favourite to claim the
36 Îc4 Ëd7 37 Îac1 a2!, and if 38 Ëxa2 better than I was today”, and so the Chinese final qualifying berth.

7th Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis, USA, 17-30 August 2019 (Category 22, average rating = 2783 Elo)
Player Country Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts TPR
1 Ding Liren CHN 2805 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 6½ 2845
2 Magnus Carlsen NOR 2882 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 6½ 2838
3 Viswanathan Anand IND 2756 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 2820
4 Sergey Karjakin RUS 2750 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 6 2821
5 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2764 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2784
6 Anish Giri NED 2779 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2782
7 Fabiano Caruana USA 2818 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 5½ 2779
8 Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2774 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 0 1 1 5½ 2783
9 Hikaru Nakamura USA 2743 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ 5 2750
10 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2778 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ 5 2746
11 Levon Aronian ARM 2765 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ 4½ 2719
12 Wesley So USA 2776 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 4½ 2718

October 2019
16
26-28 FTWM_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 14:26 Page 26

Find the Winning Moves

24 puzzles to test your tactical ability, with, as ever, the positions grouped in
rough order of difficulty. The games come from many recent events, not least
the Grand Chess Tour and the British Championships. Don’t forget that whilst
sometimes the key move will force mate or the win of material, other times
it will just win a pawn.

Solutions on page 53.

Warm-up Puzzles

(1) P.Leko-S.Bogner (2) C.McNab-A.McClement (3) U.Bajarani-N.Javanbakht

Biel 2019 Scottish Championship, Edinburgh 2019 Turkish League 2019
White to Play White to Play White to Play

(4) F.Caruana-H.Nakamura (5) T.Rushbrooke-M.Ifalore (6) V.Anand-D.Dubov

Paris (blitz) 2019 Major Open, Torquay 2019 Paris (blitz) 2019
White to Play Black to Play Black to Play

26 October 2019
53-57 Solutions and Books_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 15:12 Page 54

the e-file; the more brutal 3 Îxf6+!? gxf6 h6 6 Íe7) 4 Îxf6+! gxf6 5 Ëh5+ Êe7 but completely undone by his exposed king:
4 Ëh5+ Êg7 5 Îe1 also does the business) (or 5...Êg8 6 Íxf6 Íe6 7 Îe1, and if for example, 8...Îd8 (8...Íh6 9 Îe1+ Êf6
3...Íd5 (perhaps remarkably, there’s simply 7...Ëf7 8 Ëg5+ Íg7 9 Îxe6) 6 Íxf6+ 10 Ëd4+ is again fatal) 9 Îe1+ Êf6
no defence for Black, shown too by 3...b5 Êxf6 7 Ëf5+! Êe7 (7...Êg7 8 Ëg5+ Êf7 10 Ëe6+ Êg7 11 Ëg4+ Êf7 12 Íc4+
4 Îe1 Êg8 5 Íxf6 gxf6 6 Îxf6, as given by 9 Ëxd5+ Êg7 10 Ëd4+! Êf7 11 Íc4+ is Êf6 13 Îe6+ Êf7 14 Ëh5+ Êg7 15 Ëg5+
John Watson, and 3...Ìd5 4 Îe1 Êg8 5 Íc4 crushing) 8 Ëxd5 leaves Black a rook ahead, Êf7 16 Îe7#

This Month’s
New Releases
An Attacking Repertoire for White Íg7 6 e4 Ìxc3 7 Íxc3 can become more
with 1 d4 apparent when he achieves his usual goal of
Viktor Moskalenko, 368 pages melting the a1-h8 diagonal; the dark-
New in Chess squared bishops can easily be exchanged and
RRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25 Black’s king will be weakened as a result. This
is in stark contrast to the usual scenario, in
Moskalenko has returned with another which Black’s king’s bishop is a menace
inspirational book full of interesting ideas in throughout the game. Creative play is the
the openings. This time, instead of choosing order of the day and Grünfeld aficionados will The Nemesis:
one opening from Black’s point of view, as he no longer be able to rely simply on the long Geller’s Greatest Games
has formerly done with the French, Dutch, main lines they have somehow memorised. Efim Geller, 480 pages
Pirc and Budapest Gambit, he is offering a 1 Quality Chess
d4 repertoire for White replete with RRP £26.50 SUBSCRIBERS £23.85
“Ambitious ideas and powerful weapons.” V.Anand-J.L.Hammer This very substantial tome is a translation
In fact it has to be said this is not a full by John Sugden of a collection of the games
Stavanger 2013
repertoire. Anyone looking for something to of Efim Geller (1925-1998), first published
combat the Dutch will only find a referral to in Russian. It is magnificent. The games are all
The Diamond Dutch (Moskalenko, New in annotated by Geller himself. The annotations
Chess 2014). It would have been better to were gathered by IM Maxim Notkin, who adds
offer a couple of new Dutch games alongside corrections to Geller’s notes throughout.
the referral, just to give some starting ideas Geller can stake a reasonable claim to the
for White. status of strongest non-world champion in
Similarly, there is no coverage of the history. The title, The Nemesis, reflects his
1...d6/1...g6 family of openings, which don’t monstrous record against world champions
always transpose into the main lines, and (summarised in a table on p.477), which inclu-
neither will the reader find anything on the des plus-scores against Botvinnik, Smyslov,
Tarrasch Defence to the Queen’s Gambit or Petrosian and Fischer. Some crushing victories
the Budapest Gambit. This is a flaw in the against such players appear in this book. Only
book which should have been picked up and Spassky succeeded in dominating him.
corrected, or at least the word ‘repertoire’ Geller was an exceptionally deep analyst
should have been avoided. and researcher, a pioneer in openings such as
What we do have against everything else the King’s Indian, the Sicilian, and the white
is a series of aggressive and sometimes It is clear to see Black’s king has been side of the Ruy Lopez, and took a very
offbeat lines, aimed at putting each of Black’s weakened on the dark squares. Anand now concrete approach to chess. He is certainly
defences under pressure right from the start. played a novelty, in place of the known and one of the very best and most instructive
We have, for example, the Four Pawns Attack perfectly valid 13 h5. He sacrificed material annotators in history, too.
against the King’s Indian Defence, the with 13 Ìh3!? Ëxh4 14 0-0-0 Ëxe4. He carefully balances concise explanations
Taimanov variation with 8 Íb5+ against the Now, according to Moskalenko, 15 Ìg5 was of plans, key moments and sometimes
Modern Benoni, the Sämisch against the the best way to proceed, instead of Anand’s psychology with essential lines. For the most
Nimzo-Indian, and the Exchange variation looser 15 Íd3?! which allowed Hammer to part, the latter are not overwhelmingly dense,
against both the Slav and the Queen’s Gambit pick up another pawn and worry the white though occasionally Geller takes flight into
Declined. king with 15...Ëa4 16 Ìg5 Ëxa2. Anand complex trees of variations, as in the two-page
More obscure are 4 Ëc2 against the still went on to win (1-0, 43), but it was messy. analysis of the critical position in his demolition
Benko/Volga Gambit and 5 Íd2 against the The layout is good and clear, the prose of Fischer with Black in the Najdorf Poisoned
Grünfeld. These two lines will definitely be of explanations are motivational and the lines of Pawn (Monte Carlo 1967, pp.225-6). Jacob
use against unsuspecting club players, who analysis are kept comparatively light. In short, Aagaard concludes fittingly in his introduction:
have crammed in the finer details of the main apart from the omissions, this is definitely up “For those that want to understand chess on a
lines, but may struggle against the to Moskalenko’s previous standards and it will deep level, there is much wisdom here – and
unexpected nuances of the rarer ones. be fully accessible to club players – although many chances to go deeper” (p.19). The book
Black’s problems when facing 1 d4 Ìf6 2 further reading will definitely be required. is both delightful and of permanent value.
c4 g6 3 Ìc3 d5 4 cxd5 Ìxd5 5 Íd2 Sean Marsh Notkin’s computer-assisted insertions are

October 2019
54
53-57 Solutions and Books_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 15:12 Page 55

exemplary. They are concise, avoiding purist motto to play the position rather than ...He provides a revealing insight about his
unnecessary intrusion into Geller’s text. The the opponent to an extreme. He would choice of 25...Îae8: “The most purposeful
use of italics makes it immediately clear where consume swathes of time in seeking the truth move. Today I might have given some
Geller ends and Notkin begins. In general, it is about a position. thought to the fate of the bishop on f5 and
remarkable how well Geller’s analysis stands up It is often reasonable to assume that a tried to rescue it with 25...Îd7, securing the
to the unforgiving scrutiny of modern time-trouble addicted perfectionist suffers d3-square. This doesn’t imply any change in
computer engines. Notkin’s conscientiousness from an underlying self-doubt. Geller’s case the assessment of the position. It merely
is also testified by a note in which he refutes an seems to have been more extreme than that, speaks of the metamorphosis that every
attempted improvement by Kasparov, sometimes amounting to a self-destructive chessplayer inescapably undergoes; it speaks
vindicating the narrative that Geller provides of impracticality. Admittedly his time consum- (alas!) of the emergence of prejudices.” At
his win with Black against Botvinnik in 1952 ption was often rewarded. In one case, Geller least by the usual standard of Soviet-era
(p.42). Notkin has chosen quite rightly to recounts, “By spending a total of nearly one commentators, Geller is witty and warm.
present the games chronologically – the first is hour on his 8th and 9th moves, Black found a By way of strongly recommending The
from 1949, the last from 1990. An earlier new and interesting plan which was later Nemesis, it seems fitting to conclude this
Geller collection, austerely titled The accepted by theory as the main continuation” review with a sample of Geller’s play. Rather
Application of Chess Theory (1984), grouped (p.346). But, in a Candidates match against than give a spoiler, here is one of my
the games by opening. Any reader who wishes Portisch (Game 2, Portoroz 1973), a pawn up favourites from his twilight years, which does
to reproduce this effect using The Nemesis can in a simple, drawn endgame, Geller lost on time not appear in the book.
do so by using the Index of Openings. on move 87, staring at the board rather than
There is a great deal in this book: 131 games make a random move to reach the time control
plus a further four fragments; a rich intro- on move 88 (according to Robert Byrne’s E.Geller-J.Hickl
duction by Jacob Aagaard, which discusses a column in the New York Times, 21 October Dortmund 1989
few more games; a table of tournament 1973). Aagaard presents an only slightly less Modern Defence
results, and good indices. What does not drastic catastrophe against Korchnoi from their
appear in the book is also noteworthy, 1971 match (p.16), in which Geller agreed a 1 e4 g6 2 d4 Íg7 3 Ìc3 d6 4 g3 Ìc6
however. First, there is no biography of the draw in a won position due to time shortage. 5 Íe3 e5 6 dxe5 Ìxe5 7 h3 Ìf6 8 f4
grandmaster from Odessa here: for personal In his obituary of Geller (The Independent, Ìed7 9 Íg2 0-0 10 Ìge2 Îe8 11 0-0 Ìb6
information beyond the nice anecdotes 25 November 1998), Bill Hartston offers
supplied by Aagaard (pp.10-11), the English- another theory. Geller did analytical work for
language reader must turn to Genna Sosonko’s Spassky, Karpov and later Kasparov, among
brief memoir in his Russian Silhouettes (2009), many others. “Perhaps if he had been a little
and to Bernard Cafferty’s out-of-print more personally ambitious, and less willing to
translation of Geller’s 1962 autobiography, share his discoveries with colleagues, he
Grandmaster Geller at the Chessboard. might have scaled the game’s highest
Sosonko describes Geller vividly: “A man summit.” Further, it may be that Geller took a
of few words, with a characteristic facial little too long to develop a perfectly all-round
expression, frequent rocking of the head, style. Writing about the young Geller in
accompanied by a sceptical raising of the 1961, Alexander Kotov stated that although
eyebrows, his checked jacket, which he a fine attacker, he was “Weaker in positional
carefully hung on the back of his chair, and the battles and complicated endgames” that
ashtray, full of cigarette-ends, always alongside demanded a methodical, logical approach
him.” He had “A dimpled chin and a slow (Soviet School of Chess, p.198).
waddle”, and looked like a boxer (Sosonko, p.70). Any such weakness was strictly relative,
Second, the claim that The Nemesis gathers
12 Íd4!
of course, and Geller remained a formidable
“All Efim Geller’s annotations of his own games” competitor for a long period. In 1979 he won
(p.7), his “complete works” (p.8), is incorrect. the USSR Championship at his twentieth The inexorable quality of this game seems
As a subsequent Quality Chess blog post has to originate here. The most obvious move is
12 Ëd3, developing, controlling c4 and
attempt, brushing aside Beliavsky with Black
made clear, a handful of games from The in one of the games given here (pp.387-9).
Application of Chess Theory do not appear in defending the e4-pawn, as well as the loose
bishop on e3. However, after 12...c6 13 Îad1
Geller was self-aware about the evolution of
the present book. Geller annotated many his style with age. Commenting on this
games for the languageless Chess Informant position (p.42).... d5 (C.Murphy-J.Vakhidov, Hastings 2017/18),
series, also omitted from The Nemesis. It would Black’s position is pleasant because 14 e5 is
be understandable if permission could not be met by 14...Íf5, and the queen is beaten
gained to reproduce the latter notes, but the M.Botvinnik-E.Geller back. Geller’s choice leaves Black without an
fact that these omissions go unrecorded is obvious plan, and he proceeds to overprotect
Budapest 1952
curious. Notkin instead gleaned material from the e4-pawn, gain space, and exploit the
“The periodical press from the 1970s to the bishop-pair.
90s” (p.8): nothing further is disclosed. 12...Íe6?! 13 b3 c5 14 Íf2 Ëe7
Specialist researchers may be disappointed by The consistent, but over-sharp 14...d5
the absence of a list of sources, which would also led to an edge for White after 15 f5 gxf5
hardly have cluttered the text unduly. That said, 16 exf5 Íxf5 17 Íxc5 in J.Magem Badals-
The Nemesis is a great deal longer than The M.Todorcevic, Las Palmas 1993.
Application of Chess Theory. 15 g4 Íd7 16 Ëd2 Íc6 17 Ìg3 Îad8
Anyone who plays through his best games 18 Îae1 Ëc7 19 g5 Ìfd7 20 Ìd5 Íxd5
is bound to wonder: what prevented Geller 21 exd5 Ìc8 22 c4 a6 23 h4 b5 24 Íh3
from climbing to the very top? A key part of Ìcb6 25 Ëc2 bxc4 26 bxc4 Ìf8 27 h5
the answer appears in the title of game 14, Îb8 28 hxg6 hxg6 29 f5 Îxe1 30 Îxe1
‘The horrors of time trouble’ (p.60). Although Íe5 31 Ìe4 Ìbd7 32 Ëe2 Îb2 33 Ëg4
his pre-game preparation often focused on a Ëa5 34 fxg6 fxg6 35 Ëh4 Îxf2 36 Êxf2
particular opponent’s strengths and Ëxa2+ 37 Îe2 Íd4+ 38 Êf1 Ëxc4
weaknesses, at the board Geller took the 39 Íe6+ Ìxe6 40 dxe6 Ëc1+ 41 Îe1

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Ëc4+ 42 Êg2 Ëa2+ 43 Êh1 Ìf8 44 e7 well as those new to the game, the weaker Greatest 460 Puzzles Part 1:
1-0 club player and keen junior should also learn a From Practical Games of 2019
lot from going through this latest book from Csaba Balogh, 216 pages, paperback
Geller said: “If I feel anxious or uncom- Gambit. RRP £19.95 SUBSCRIBERS £17.95
fortable, I sit down at the chessboard for some Also due out soon from Gambit Publications The latest puzzle book from Chess
5-6 hours and gradually come to” (Sosonko, is Chess Logic in Practice, the follow-up to Evolution does just what its says on the tin.
p.73). Try it – with this wonderful hardback. Erik Kislik’s Applying Logic in Chess. Inside one will find 460 positions – some
James Vigus beautiful, others simply neat – taken from
ChessBase Magazine 191 games played in the first half of this year and
A Complete Guide to Practical Play ChessBase PC-DVD divided into easy, medium and hard categories.
John Emms & Volker Schlepütz, RRP £17.95 SUBSCRIBERS £16.15
496 pages, paperback The latest issue of CBM is for
RRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99 ‘September/October 2019’ and covers the
Everyman Chess continue to produce GCT event in Zagreb, as well as the likes of
compilation books and while some contain Biel and Dortmund. Anish Giri explains how he
works which are undoubtedly now a little overcame Ian Nepomniachtchi in the Croatian
dated, this latest one is most welcome to see. capital, with Wesley So, Baskaran Adhiban and
It features Emms’ The Survival Guide to Vidit Gujrathi other notable contributors.
Competitive Chess, which was one of his very Elsewhere Simon Williams looks at 1 b3 e5 2
best books and still contains much material of Íb2 e4!? and Najdorf aficionados may not
want to miss Daniel King on 1 e4 c5 2 Ìf3
Master Class Volume 12 –
use to the over-the-board player, as well as
d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Ìxd4 Ìf6 5 Ìc3 a6 6 Íg5
Viswanathan Anand
The Chess Tactics Detection Workbook by
e6 7 f4 Íe7 8 Ëf3 h6!? 9 Íh4 g5 10 fxg5
ChessBase PC-DVD; running time: 7 hours
Emms and Schlepütz. That remains a fairly
Ìfd7, the infamous Gothenburg variation.
RRP £26.99 SUBSCRIBERS £24.29
unique project, with the reader being forced There can be little doubt that Yannick
to go through games, aiming to pinpoint Pelletier, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and
which moves were mistakes. Oliver Reeh present a quality line-up and here
Also recently released is A Complete Guide those four ChessBase presenters team up to
to Systems Where Black Meets 1 e4 by examine the chess of a living legend. Anand is
Supporting a Pawn on d5, featuring both famous for his deep understanding of the
Starting Out: The Caro-Kann by Joe Gallagher game and the way in which he can quickly
and Byron Jacobs’ Starting Out: The French, come to grips with a new position, rarely
which runs to 368 pages in total, while missing tactical resources which may arise. All
retailing at £17.99 or £16.19 for Subscribers. aspects of his game are examined on this
Coaching Kasparov Volume 1: DVD, from his opening repertoire to those
Attack and Counterattack in Chess The Whizz Kid (1973-1981) endgames he especially excels in, with the
Fred Reinfeld, 88 pages, paperback Alexander Nikitin, 200 pages, paperback viewer also having the bonus of 399 tactical
RRP £12.95 SUBSCRIBERS £11.65 RRP £20.95 SUBSCRIBERS £18.85 exercises to solve.
Russell Enterprises continue to reproduce Elk & Ruby are to be commended for
some of Fred Reinfeld’s classic works. This bringing to light much which has remained in
one is split into two halves, beginning by a dim shade in the west concerning the
showing how White exploits an early initiative legendary Soviet chess scene. Here
and takes advantage of typical mistakes by Kasparov’s early trainer reveals just how they
Black, before demonstrating how Black might worked together, while annotating 46 of the
neutralise White’s early initiative and even aim future world champion’s games from those
to take over himself. The book may have first early years (Kasparov turned 18 in 1981),
appeared in 1958, but almost all the including all 14 of a previously unpublished
examples are still relevant today and of a type blitz match between Kasparov and Tal.
regularly seen at club level, where many a Side-Stepping Mainline Theory
player continues, for example, to struggle to Gerard Welling & Steve Giddins,
handle an early gambit from White. 272 pages, paperback
RRP £21.95 SUBSCRIBERS £19.75
Chess Tactics Workbook for Kids What percentage of the club player’s
John Nunn, 128 pages, hardback study time did Emanuel Lasker advise should
RRP £12.50 SUBSCRIBERS £11.25 be devoted to the study of the openings and
The leading chess author’s latest work has how long do you actually spend? The answer
a similar cover to Murray Chandler bestselling to the first part of that is just 5%. Of course,
How to Beat Your Dad at Chess. The premise theory has evolved somewhat in the last
isn’t dissimilar, if pitched at a higher level. Forcing Chess Moves hundred years, but the highly-experienced
Nunn knows that the quickest way for those Charles Hertan, 432 pages, paperback duo of Giddins and Welling are firmly of the
new to the game to improve is by expanding RRP £25.95 SUBSCRIBERS £23.35 belief that the modern club player spends far
their tactical repertoire. He presents 12 Remarkably this is already the fourth too long studying openings. Their advice: the
chapters, each devoted to an important edition of Hertan’s modern classic based on club player should be happy to emerge from
tactical theme, such as forks, discovered the principle that humans miss many the opening with a reasonable position. Their
attacks and in-between moves. In each possibilities by not examining forcing moves proposed repertoire: the Hanham Philidor and
chapter the key motif is clearly introduced first in a position. The book will undoubtedly Old Indian as Black and, as White, the same
before the reader has 18 positions to solve, improve your calculation and chess vision, set-up in reverse. The result: the authors map
with the work concluding with an additional with this expanded new edition adding 50 out the main lines well, highlight the few
chapter of puzzles entitled ‘Test Papers’. As pages of new and instructive combinations. precise sequences the reader simply must
know, and especially demonstrate exactly

October 2019
56
53-57 Solutions and Books_Chess mag - 21_6_10 22/09/2019 15:17 Page 57

what to aim for in the typical middlegames rise, Gata Kamsky returns by examining how
which arise. You may not win many games his chess career unfolded after an eight-year
quickly with this repertoire, but you also hiatus from the board. Kamsky admits that it
won’t be in major trouble by move 10 with it. is not always a light read, as he tries “To share
[his] vision of chess as a great intellectual
battlefield where many factors play a role,
including psychology and the science of
computer home preparation.” Those who do
study the many deeply-annotated games Typical Mistakes by 1000-1600 Players
should learn much, others will simply enjoy Nicholas Pert, PC-DVD;
Kamsky’s sometimes controversial take on running time: 4 hours, 40 minutes
various chess and non-chess topics. RRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25
The ECF’s Head Coach is the ideal guide to
The Nasty Nimzowitsch Defence the most common mistakes made by
Christian Bauer; PC-DVD; different levels of club player. Pert’s aim is to
running time: 3 hours, 44 minutes help all those between 1000 and 1600 cut
RRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25 out many of those mistakes and so improve.
The French Grandmaster is making a He looks at such topics as tactics, attacking
deserved name for himself as a leading and the endgame, while also going through
authority on a number of offbeat openings some very revealing complete games and
and all the while as he maintains a rating over providing a number of interactive tests to
2600. Bauer returns to the ChessBase studio The Modernized Dutch Defense ensure his advice really sinks in.
to reveal why there is much more to 1 e4 Adrien Demuth, 470 pages, paperback
Ìc6 than you might have realised. He maps SPECIAL PRICE £29.95 SUBSCRIBERS £26.95
out a repertoire for Black with the
Nimzowitsch Defence, although it must be
said that his main goal is to reach the
The French Grandmaster is acutely aware
that 1 d4 f5 unsettles many white players,
while giving Black every chance to strive for
KEVEREL
Nimzowitsch-Pirc hybrid which arises after 2 the full point. In this detailed repertoire for CHESS BOOKS
Ìf3 d6 3 d4 Ìf6 4 Ìc3 g6. Thinkers Publishing, Demuth maps out a black Established 25 years
Bigger ¢ Brighter ¥ Better ¤
repertoire centred on the Leningrad variation,
while also revealing how to meet all White’s
tricky sidelines, such as 2 e4 and 2 Ìc3, as
well as those no-less-tricky lines which White Over 5,000 books in stock
might prefer after 1 c4/Ìf3 f5.
To access our Autumn 2019 catalogue
in pdf format visit
keverelchess.com/books
The Safest Grünfeld Reloaded Order or enquiries via e-mail:
Alexander Delchev, 352 pages, paperback jones_r53@sky.com
RRP £20.95 SUBSCRIBERS £18.85
The strong Bulgarian Grandmaster
has fully updated his Grünfeld repertoire
from 2011. The core of the repertoire The Royal Chess Couple in Action 7th Witney
Hans Bohm & Yochanan Afek,
remains broadly unchanged, but there
can be no doubt that in certain places an 384 pages, paperback Weekend Congress
extensive reworking has occurred, which RRP £30.95 SUBSCRIBERS £27.85 2 - 3 November 2019
is no surprise considering both the scale of This impressive project presents some
modern praxis and the improvement in the 480 positions, divided into two parts,
strength of chess engines. The tournament dedicated respectively to the king and
player will be pleased to learn that queen. The erudite authors have further
publisher Chess Stars have retained their divided the positions, which come from
earlier format, their classic one, introducing both over-the-board play and composition,
the key ideas and main line of each by themes and motifs. Publishers Thinkers
chapter first before delving deeply into the have also included a number of photographs,
theory. Meanwhile Delchev has especially not of the players or composers featured, but
added plenty of new material in the chapter rather of old versions of the pieces in
dealing with White’s attempt to avoid the question, as the book includes an historic
Cokethorpe School, Witney, OX29 7PU
Grünfeld with 3 f3, while also revealing how review of their development.
readers should meet both 2 Íg5 and 2 Ìc3 British readers may be especially Sections: Open, U170, U145, U120
d5 3 Íf4. interested in one of the 120 mini-chapters Format: Five Round Swiss
entitled ‘The Fearless Kings of Nigel Short’.
The Chess Gamer Volume 2: We are most grateful to Yochanan Afek and Prize Fund: £1,800
Return (2004-2013) Thinkers Publishing for permission to reprint Organiser: Mike Truran (01993) 708 645
Gata Kamsky, 454 pages, paperback the positions from that section in this month’s Email: mike@truranfamily.co.uk
RRP £30.95 SUBSCRIBERS £27.85 PGN download. You’re right that Short- For further information and entry form visit:
Having covered in the first volume, ‘The Timman appears, but which other three king www.witneychess.co.uk
Awakening 1989-1996’, his early meteoric marches feature too?

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